Ashok Gajapathi Raju, India's Civil Aviation Minister
Ashok Gajapathi Raju, India's Civil Aviation Minister

India’s Civil Aviation Minister opens new Development Center

by Anil Mathur, eTN India

In a significant development for the aviation sector, the first of its kind Multi-Skill Development Center (MSDC) was opened in Chandigarh, India, today, February 27 by Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Civil Aviation Minister.

The center will train about 2,300 youth in the next 3 years in 8 sectors of aviation. The training provider is the Bird Education Society for Travel and Tourism.

According to the Aviation Ministry, demand for aviation-skilled personnel has been rising with the boom in the civil aviation sector witnessed in the last 3-4 years. More than 900 new aircraft will be added to the Indian airline industry over the next few years, and this logically increases the demand for skilled personnel.

To meet this demand, the Ministries of Aviation and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship collaborated to launch the aviation MSDC at the Chandigarh old airport terminal building. The Rs 5.2 crore project will leverage the Airports Authority of India’s (AAI) existing infrastructure, which has been converted to offer training in modern aviation courses as well as upskilling programs to empower youth and women in particular.

The center has been set up by AAI in collaboration with the National Skill Corporation and is supported by various leading aerospace bodies.